Take Flight Little Bird
by HeyDay
Summary: A ten-year-old Ochaco is branded a thief after she finds and keeps a stray five thousand yen note to buy dinner for her family. She tries to escape school by floating into the sky and meets the Symbol of Peace.


Ochaco remembered the first time she made her parents sad. She wanted a phone and came running to her parents with it because her friends at school all had one too. Her parents looked at the price tag, blanched and told her they could not buy it. Ochaco's response was to throw a tantrum in front of all the other shoppers.

After calming her down, her father took her outside and to a corner on the block. He had a stricken look on his face, and while Ochaco was too young to remember the conversation, she remembered thinking how strange it was for her father to seem so afraid and so ashamed as if he was both bearing a huge weight and hiding a deep secret.

The thought that she may be somehow responsible made her stomach sick.

Now, many years older, Ochaco knew and understood why her father fixed the old furniture rather than replace them, even when they always needed fixing again. She understood, if not the reason, the effect of the papers with red stamps and letters in all caps strewn over the kitchen table, and her mother's two jobs at both the office and the restaurant.

What hurt was her having to pretend she didn't know better. When her parents urged her to eat her dinner and she asked them if they had enough for themselves, Ochaco knew they lied when they told her that they'd be fine. She could see the servings they had. So meager, so pitiful, and yet they made light of it. Their false cheer made her lose her appetite, and then they were urging her to take another bite again, and the cycle repeated itself.

But that was fine. Ochaco decided she was going to help in her little way. So she hid the holes in her stockings, said nothing about all her classmates talking about the latest handheld console and comic books and flashing the cash they were going to bring to the arcade and karaoke bars. She did this even when they made fun of her for things she did not have, the way children did for things they did not quite understand.

And when her mother found her stockings filled with holes in the washer and scolded Ochaco for not telling her sooner, Ochaco held her ground. "I didn't tell you because I know we can't afford new ones!"

Her father took her outside to the backyard, except it wasn't their backyard. It was shared. They didn't live in a house. They lived in a duplex. They used to live in an apartment, but when her parents thought Ochaco wasn't able to hear, they talked about moving back into one.

Thankfully, the backyard was empty at that time. Ochaco and her father sat down. Her father tried three times to open his mouth before he could begin to find the words. "Someday," he said, "You will understand why it hurt your mother to hear you say what you said. She's not angry at you. In fact, she's very proud of you, and so am I. But we sorely wished it were otherwise, that our little girl did not have to know of such things, let alone to behave so maturely about it as you have. Everything we do, we do for you, and-" he broke off, and it was a while before he spoke again, and when he did his voice was strained which made Ochaco feel that familiar sensation of a sinking pit in her stomach. "A long time later, when you have grown up and we know that we have done all that we could to take care of you, you can start to take care of us, how does that sound?"

"How do I know when I have grown up?" Ochaco asked.

Her father ruffled her hair. "You'll know, Ochaco. You'll know. You'll be bigger than me, stronger and wiser."

Setting out to try and grow up as soon as possible, Ochaco first tried to grow taller but realized that this was something she was going to have to be patient about. She tried to practice her Quirk but found it made her stomach hurt the more she used it. She asked her mother how she could become wiser. Her mother told her that wisdom came with mistakes.

"If that's what it takes," Ochaco vowed, "I'll make all the mistakes I can!"

Her mother laughed. "You can take it slow," she replied. "You have all the time in the world."

But Ochaco felt she didn't have enough time. She said nothing despite her thoughts. It was better not to make her mother sad again.

One day, Ochaco spied a stray five thousand yen note left on the floor of her classroom during recess, fluttering tauntingly as a stray breeze caught it and took it towards the window. Despite herself, Ochaco chased it and grabbed it and hid it in her bag. With five thousand yen, she could easily replace her stockings, buy that new handheld console and maybe even that new pop idol album.

She could even buy dinner for her mother and father.

She decided that was what she was going to do. After school, she would go down to the shopping mall and buy the groceries from the stores she often went to with her father, and she would bring them back, and this time her mother and father will eat as much as she did, and everything would be alright.

When class began again, one of her classmates told the teacher that she was missing a five thousand yen note. Her teacher asked everyone to turn out their pockets and empty their bags.

Which led to Ochaco feeling her face burn as all eyes turned to her and the five thousand yen note crumpled on her desk.

"She must have stolen it!" The classmate said, snatching up the note and jabbing her finger at Ochaco. "She's a thief!"

The teacher sighed. "I'll have to speak to the principal," he said. "We will need to call your parents. Please see me after class."

Ochaco looked around the room, finding only eyes that would not meet hers. The thought of her parents finding out what she had done made her stomach hurt.

She ran out of class. She sprinted all the way up the stairs. She burst out onto the rooftops and saw the pigeons startled into flight by her sudden entrance.

She always knew that her Quirk would only allow her to float. But watching those pigeons flap up and up and out into the sky, she wondered if it would be able to make her fly.

So she jumped and felt herself grow lightheaded as she ascended. Higher and higher she went, till even the tallest building was beneath her feet.

But the pit her stomach widened and widened until she felt her lunch suddenly lurch up into her throat. She gagged and then she lost control.

She fell. She screwed her eyes shut as the ground rose to meet her.

She landed in arms as thick as tree trunks.

"Whoa, thought you were a bird at first, kid!" All Might bellowed in mid-leap. "You alright there?"

Ochaco's response was to throw up.

After they were back on solid earth once more and Ochaco's bout of retching had ended, All Might took her to a nearby playground in a park. He knelt before her but found that she still had to crane her neck to look up, so he sat her down on a nearby bench and sat down beside her. "You were about to reach the clouds at the rate you were going," he remarked with a chuckle. "What compelled you to do something so reckless?" He was not in his uniform, but it didn't matter. Everyone knew his face. Kids and parents were waving at him from across the playground, and All Might waved back to them.

"I got in trouble." Ochaco felt her eyes water up. She reminded herself that grown-ups did not cry and that she needed to be a grown-up if she wanted to take care of her mother. It took some time, but eventually she was able to explain everything. "My family is poor and I thought I could buy some food for them," she finished as she swung her legs off the edge of the bench.

All Might remained still for quite some time. "Do you want to know what I think? You don't have to listen to me if you don't have to." Ochaco slowly nodded and All Might stooped forward, rubbing his face with one hand as he cleared his throat. "The money was not yours to take, but you are not a bad person to have taken it. You did so with the purest intentions, and I don't think you should be punished for it." Ochaco's face brightened. She opened her mouth but All Might raised a finger. "However," he added. "You will have to go back and apologize to the girl who you took the money from. That is only fair as you would have been spending what was hers in the first place."

Ochaco looked away as All Might spoke. "Why does my family have no money?" She finally burst out. "Why are we unable to afford anything?"

"What is it that you want?"

Ochaco hesitated, before bowing her head. "I want a place just for us. I want my mother and father to not be sad or grumpy or frustrated or tired. I want them to know that I can take care of myself, so they can take care of themselves."

"It seems to me that your parents would say the same for you."

"It's not the same," Ochaco muttered. "I only have to go to school, with friends my age and teachers who are very nice to us. Mother and Father have to deal with rude people and work on the weekends." She made circles under eyes for All Might to see. "When they come home, they are always tired and they have these little dark rings, like yours."

All Might smiled, but for a moment it wavered. "I admit it. I'm tired even now. Even now, I am so very tired of things."

"I tell them to take a break, but they said they can't. They won't say why."

"Did they also tell you that you'll understand when you're older?"

"Yes. Can you tell me? I'm not a little girl anymore, you know. I think I should be allowed to know."

All Might shook his head. "It's not for me to tell. But you're right." He stood up before Ochaco could ask him to explain. "Let's get you back. No doubt your whole school's up in arms and looking for you."

With that, All Might picked up Ochaco and jumped into the sky. They went back to school and Ochaco found that the principal was livid and his mother had arrived at his office. All Might asked Ochaco to wait outside the principal's office while he spoke with the principal and her mother.

Ochaco tried to listen from outside the door, but the assistant principal asked her to stand away from it. As it was, the sounds of the conversation inside were too muffled.

Then the conversation stopped and Ochaco was called back inside.

The principal cleared his throat as Ochaco came to sit next to her mother, while All Might stood to the side, larger than life and scratching his head. "I hope you understand the trouble you have caused us, Uraraka," he said solemnly. "Having said that, we have discussed the matter at length and believe that there will no need for any punishment under the circumstances. As such, you have the rest of today to consider the gravity of your actions before you apologize to your classmate tomorrow morning."

Ochaco noticed as she and her mother bowed, that while All Might did not look at her, he did however gave her a thumbs up where the principal could not see it.

"Thank you so much for finding my daughter," Ochaco heard her mother say to All Might as they all left the principal's office. "I'm sorry for her reckless behavior."

"Not at all. The pleasure was all mine," All Might replied while giving Ochaco a nod. "I believe your daughter will grow up into a fine young woman."

"I think so too. Come along, Ochaco. We have a train to catch and your mother has to drop you back home before going back to the office."

"If I may, Mrs. Uraraka," All Might suggested. "If you like, I can take young Uraraka back home for you."

Ochaco watched her mother's face and quickly piped in before her mother refused the offer. "I'd like that very much. Please, mum, please, can I go with the Symbol of Peace? "

Her mother frowned at first, but as Ochaco stared at her, she softened. "Only if Yagi agrees to it."

"Done," All Might said. "I'll have her there in a flash."

"I still don't think I should be apologizing," Ochaco said crossly as All Might gave her a piggyback and jumped into the air from the school grounds. She reveled in the looks of envy she received from her classmates as they left.

"Think of it this way," All Might replied. "Imagine your classmate played with your favorite toy without you knowing, and decided they wanted to keep it. Would that make you unhappy?"

Ochaco grimaced. "It's that street over there, I think," she said, pointing a finger for All Might to see.

They landed on the top of a skyscraper and All Might jumped his way down from building to building before reaching ground level to drop Ochaco on her home's front doorstep. "Now try to stay out of trouble," All Might said gently. "And be careful with your Quirk. I can see great potential in you and I would like to meet you again in the future someday."

Ochaco quickly realized something as All Might turned to leave. "Sir, you never really answered my question."

All Might turned around. He looked crestfallen. "Which question would that be?"

"Why is that some people are poor while others are rich? Why can't everyone have what they needed to be happy?" A thought suddenly occurred to Ochaco. "Since you're rich, would you be able to give us money to be rich like you are?" She asked.

For the first time since Ochaco met him, she watched All Might hesitate. Towering over her and powerful to the point that she believed that nothing in this world could stop him, she watched him run a hand through his hair and look away, reminding her of all her classmates that refused to meet her eye earlier that day. "Please understand me when I say this," All Might said. "I want to give you a better answer, but the truth is that I don't know and I am not rich."

"But you're the Symbol of Peace," Ochaco argued. "You must be rich!"

All Might shook his head. "No. Like your mother and father, I too am trying to make ends meet."

"So what do you then? How do you make things better, when you're always tired and frustrated?"

"If you find something funny, don't hold back your laughter. When you have a chance, help others. Think of how you want to be treated and treat others the same way. Above all else and no matter what, always meet tomorrow with a smile, and so long as there are people like you, Ochaco, there will always be hope for the world."

The next day, after school was finished, Ochaco came home to find a bag of groceries deposited on the front doorstep.

She looked up and around. For a brief moment, before it vanished behind a skyscraper, she thought she could see a figure high in the sky, cape fluttering in the wind,

She smiled, picked up the groceries, and went inside.

* * *

**I know some might have noticed I went with the spelling Ochaco rather than Ochako. I'm not sure which one is the correct one so I stuck with the wiki spelling.**


End file.
